!934 OT Yankee Restoration

1934 OT Yankee Restoration

I am beginning a restoration on my '34 Yankee AA Grade. I thought I could use this thread to both document with photos and steps taken as well as request advice (feel free to offer advice even if no request is made as my ignorance may negate my ability to ask a question).

I purchased this canoe from the son of the original owner in Le Marque, TX. It had its original canvas painted in OT design #16 as well as the name "Fanny Dunker" painted on the R and L bow. It also has its original floor rack which has been painted white and is in a sad but reparable state. The owner also gave me some paddles he and his brother used as boys at the time of purchase.

Due to its life near the ocean, there is a significant amount of dezincification (SP) but despite that, the wood remains in very good condition overall. The gunwales have freckling on the outsides, but the top edge looks great. There are no cracked ribs and the decks are intact with only one rather unsightly hole through the bow deck where a large eyehook was attatched.

Currently, I have removed the canvas. A good bit of Texas beach sand was still between the canvas and the planks. The stem bands were removed easily. I have also begun stripping the interior which is coming along nicely, if somewhat more slowly than I would wish.

I believe my next step once the canoe is stripped would be to soak the wood in boiled linseed oil to restore the flex to the wood and let it sit for a few weeks.

I look forward to sharing this restoration with all of you and to any discussions that ensue.

Adam

How is the restoration coming? I am working on a 1929 Yankee myself.

I have been hard pressed to get to the canoe with the holidays. However, I am aiming to get back to her in the next couple of weeks to get the rest of the stripping done then onto sanding, retacking some planks, and oiling the wood.

The next time I work on it I will take some photos. Feel free to post up some of yours here as well.

Adam

Cool, thanks Adam. Here is a link to a post I just made where I uploaded a few pictures showing showing the recent restoration efforts on my lady.
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?p=28135&posted=1#post28135
I have many more, I will have to post them up soon.

Beautiful day today! Temp was in the mid 60's. My dad and I were able to do some stripping this morning. We got about half of the hull stripped. We have also been able to secure a shop where we will be able to work more frequently and will be moving in a couple of weeks.

It's been a while, but we are making progress on the restoration. Here are a few photos from today. Feel free to post up any thoughts.

Adam

And a few more...

Did this canoe have white halos around the tacks? If it did, how did you make them disappear? I also need to make some white rings disappear.

Macky,

Yes it did. They come from exposure to salt water. We stripped the canoe three times by hand and sanded the entire thing. We also had to retack the entire canoe as the heads of the old tacks were crumbling.

I can't say exactly what removed the halos but I'm happy they're diminished.

Canvassed this weekend and filled today. Here are a few pics.

Will you be bringing this canoe to the assembly in July?

We won't be able to attend the assembly...I will be paddling boundary waters with my son. Let me know if you'd like more pics.

On a side note, anyone know why my pics keep coming out upside down?

Started painting today

Finally began painting today. Canoe will be painted I with OT design #16. Began with primer and then "new John Deere yellow" tractor paint from Tractor supply.

Getting closer on "Fanny Dunker", thought I'd add a few more pics.